Hungary calls on Spain to facilitate Talgo takeover bid

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó used his official visit to Spain yesterday to defend the bid to buy Talgo by a consortium led by Magyar Wagon. In his opinion, the possible seizure of funds will “strengthen economic ties” between Spain and his country, reports Efe.

Szijjártó said that “unfortunately, we talk about this bilateral economic cooperation much less than we should, given that there are more than 220 Spanish companies operating in Hungary, employing 5,000 people.” “The Hungarian government places great emphasis on strengthening Hungarian companies so that they can expand their activities outside the country,” said the Hungarian Foreign Minister.

“We are a relatively small country with a relatively small economy. But now we are at a level of development where we already have some national champions, so to speak, who are strong enough to expand their activities beyond borders,” noted the head of Hungarian diplomacy. Szijjártó specifically mentioned Hungarian national oil company MOL, which has gone abroad, as well as a banking group and a pharmaceutical firm.

If this expansion now culminates in the transport rolling stock sector, “We will be happy if Magyar Vagon succeeds in its expansion plans. I am very confident that this will strengthen bilateral economic relations,” he said.

Hungary not only encourages this operation on the Spanish market, but also supports it financially. As EXPANSIÓN reported yesterday, the Magyar Vagon offer made by investor Andreas Tombor is supported by the state investment fund Corvinus International Investment, a vehicle created by the Magyar executive to jointly invest in Hungarian and foreign assets, which controls 45% of the consortium. The fund is dependent on the Hungarian Development Bank.

The Hungarian consortium’s public and private partners are willing to pay 632 million euros (five euros per share) to acquire Talgo, one of the largest acquisitions made outside its territory and far from Hungary’s economic influence, which has historical ties to neighboring countries. countries such as Romania, the Balkans, Austria and other eastern countries including Russia.

Among the hurdles the bid to buy Talgo must overcome is the position of the Spanish government, which controls the operation as a key rail industry asset that will go into the hands of a corporation with strong ties to Viktor Orban’s government. . Yesterday at the meeting of the Hungarian Foreign Minister with Spanish Minister José Manuel Albarez did not raise the issue. but both the government presidium and the Ministry of Industry are analyzing the actions of the Ganz-MaVag consortium.

Sources close to the government of Pedro Sánchez say they have asked Talgo managers for information on the scale of the operation, which should first be analyzed by the CNMV. The executive’s main concern is that a change in control of Talgo would threaten the interests of Spanish companies and the preservation of employment and industrial production in Spain.